Level 3.2

 Nasreddin and the Smell of Soup

One day, a poor man, who had only one piece of bread to eat, was walking past a restaurant. There was a large pot of soup on the table. The poor man held his bread over the soup, so the steam from the soup went into the bread, and gave it a good smell. Then he ate the bread.

The restaurant owner was very angry at this, and he asked the man for money, in exchange for the steam from the soup. The poor man had no money, so the restaurant owner took him to Nasreddin, who was a judge at that time. Nasreddin thought about the case for a little while.

Then he took some money from his pocket. He held the coins next to the restaurant owner's ear, and shook them, so that they made a jingling noise.

"What was that?" asked the restaurant owner.

"That was payment for you," answered Nasreddin.

"What do you mean? That was just the sound of coins!" protested the restaurant owner.

"The sound of the coins is payment for the smell of the soup," answered Nasreddin. "Now go back to your restaurant."

Raven and the First People

Raven was bored. He was walking along the beach in Haida Gwai, looking for some new way to amuse himself. As he walked along the beach, the blue ocean in front of him and the green forest behind him didn’t seem interesting. Raven wanted to play, but there was no one to play with.

Then he heard a strange sound, unlike any sound he knew. He looked up and down the beach. Where was it coming from? As he walked he noticed a large white clamshell lying in the sand. Inside the clamshell were tiny creatures, unlike any he had seen before.

Raven bent down to get a closer look. The creatures seemed afraid of him, so he began to coax them in a gentle voice, “Come out. Come out. Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you.”

A few of the creatures came out of the clamshell. They were very different from Raven. They had no feathers, no wings, and no beaks. Like him, they walked on two legs, but they had arms, faces with mouths, and black hair. They spoke to each other in a language that Raven didn’t understand. These tiny creatures were the first humans.

Raven enjoyed watching these humans play and explore the world. After a while, when he was beginning to feel bored again, he noticed that these humans were only men. There were no women. Raven had an idea. He wondered if he could find some women. He searched for a long time. Then he saw some *chitons. He opened one of the chitons and found some lovely, tiny women. He brought the women to the men.

Raven enjoyed watching the behaviour of the men and women. He saw them begin to pair off and have children. The human families moved to other parts of the island. Since that day, many generations of humans have grown and flourished, and Raven has never been bored.

* Chiton: a large sea shell

Raven Steals the Light

In the beginning there was no light in the world, because an old magician kept it hidden in a box inside his house. Raven, who was always hungry, didn’t like the darkness because it was difficult to find food. One day he was looking for food near the old magician’s house. He heard a voice saying, “I have a box, and inside this box is another box, and inside this there is another box, and inside the smallest box is all the light in the world.” Raven decided to steal the light.

Raven waited until the old man’s daughter went down to the river to collect water. Just as she was dipping her basket into the river, he changed himself into a *hemlock needle. The needle floated into her basket. When the girl drank some water, she swallowed Raven too.

Inside the girl’s belly Raven took the form of a human baby. He grew and grew, and in time she gave birth to a funny looking child with black eyes and a big nose. The old man loved his grandson so much that he gave in to the child’s every wish. Raven became spoilt and greedy. He was bored with all his toys, and wanted to play with the box that held the light. Finally the grandfather opened the box and tossed the glowing ball of light to Raven.

As soon as Raven caught the light, he immediately changed into his bird form. Holding the light in his beak, he flew up the chimney hole into the dark world. The magician was angry. He wanted to get the light back into his box. He flew after Raven.

The light was heavy in Raven's beak, and he was getting tired. The magician was coming closer. Raven broke off some pieces of the light and threw them into the sky. They became the stars. The magician was still coming closer, so Raven broke off another piece of the light and threw it into the sky. It became the moon. Finally Raven became so tired that he tossed the last and biggest piece of the light into the sky. It became the sun; and that is how daylight came to the world.

* hemlock needle: the needle-shaped leaf of an evergreen tree

Sedna the Sea Goddess

Sedna was a beautiful Inuit girl who didn’t want to get married. Many hunters wanted to marry her, but she refused their offers. Her father scolded her, saying, “I am getting older, and soon you will need a good husband who can provide you with food and furs. You must marry the next hunter who asks for you.” Sedna still wasn’t interested.

Soon a young hunter from a distant place came to her father’s camp . He was dressed in warm furs, and spoke in a soft voice. He promised to provide a good home and plenty of animals for food and clothing. Although he kept his face hidden under his hood, Sedna was very impressed with him, so she agreed to marry him.

Sedna got into her husband’s kayak and travelled with him to her new home. When they arrived at his island, she saw that her home was nothing but some sticks and bits of moss and feathers clinging to a large rock. Her husband took off his hood, and she realized that he was not a man, but an evil raven. He never hunted, he only caught fish. Sedna was cold, lonely, hungry, and very unhappy. Every day she cried for her father to come and save her.

Her father heard her cries and decided to rescue her. He paddled his kayak to the island where she was living. On their way home, Sedna looked back and saw that the raven was following them. He was gaining on them quickly. As the raven came close, her father took his paddle and struck the bird, who had to fall back. Then the raven flapped his powerful wings at the ocean and caused a huge storm to blow up.

When her father saw that their lives were in danger, he became afraid for his own life. He threw Sedna over the side of the kayak. Sedna tried to save herself. She grabbed onto the kayak with her fingers, but her father took his paddle and beat at her fingers until they broke off. As they sank into the ocean, her fingers turned into seals and fish. Again, Sedna grabbed the kayak with her hands, but her father took his paddle and beat her hands until they also fell into the water. As they sank into the ocean, her hands turned into whales and walrus. Sedna also sank into the ocean.

Sedna lives at the bottom of the ocean. She is the goddess of the sea. She is the one who provides animals for the hunters, but only when she feels generous. When she is angry, and this is often, the hunters can’t find food; and the people go hungry. 

Nasreddin and the Pot

One day Nasreddin borrowed a pot from his neighbour Ali. The next day he brought it back with another little pot inside. "That's not mine," said Ali. "Yes, it is," said Nasreddin. "While your pot was staying with me, it had a baby."

Some time later Nasreddin asked Ali to lend him a pot again. Ali agreed, hoping that he would once again receive two pots in return. However, days passed and Nasreddin had still not returned the pot. Finally Ali lost patience and went to demand his property. "I am sorry," said Nasreddin. "I can't give you back your pot, since it has died." "Died!" screamed Ali, "how can a pot die?" "Well," said Nasreddin, "you believed me when I told you that your pot had had a baby."

Nasreddin Goes Shopping

One day Nasreddin went to town to buy new clothes. First he tried on a pair of trousers. He didn't like the trousers, so he gave them back to the shopkeeper. Then he tried a robe which had the same price as the trousers. Nasreddin was pleased with the robe, and he left the shop. Before he climbed on his donkey to ride home, the shopkeeper and the shop-assistant ran out.

"You didn't pay for the robe!" said the shopkeeper.

"But I gave you the trousers in exchange for the robe, didn't I?" replied Nasreddin.

"Yes, but you didn't pay for the trousers, either!" said the shopkeeper.

"But I didn't buy the trousers," replied Nasreddin. "I am not so stupid as to pay for something which I never bought."

Nasreddin and the Beggar

One day, Nasreddin was up on the roof of his house, mending a hole in the tiles. He had nearly finished, and he was pleased with his work. Suddenly, he heard a voice below call "Hello!" When he looked down, Nasreddin saw an old man in dirty clothes standing below.

"What do you want?" asked Nasreddin.

"Come down and I'll tell you," called the man.

Nasreddin was annoyed, but he was a polite man, so he put down his tools. Carefully, he climbed all the way down to the ground.

"What do you want?" he asked, when he reached the ground.

"Could you spare a little money for an old beggar?" asked the old man. Nasreddin thought for a minute.

Then he said, "Come with me." He began climbing the ladder again. The old man followed him all the way to the top. When they were both sitting on the roof, Nasreddin turned to the beggar.

"No," he said.

Nasreddin the Ferry Man

Nasreddin once had an old boat, which he used to ferry people across the river. One day, he was taking a university professor to the other side.

"What is the square root of 9?" asked the professor.

"I don't know," answered Nasreddin.

"How do you spell elephant?" asked the professor.

"I have no idea," replied Nasreddin.

"Didn't you study anything at school?" demanded the professor, surprised.

"No," said Nasreddin.

"Then you wasted half your life," said the professor.

Nasreddin was silent for a little while. Then he said:

"Can you swim?"

"No," said the professor.

"Then you wasted ALL of your life," said Nasreddin. "We are sinking."

Nasreddin's Visitors

One day a visitor came to Nasreddin's house. "I am your cousin from Konya," he said, "and I have brought you a duck to celebrate the visit." Nasreddin was delighted. He asked his wife to cook the duck, and served the visitor a fine dinner.

The next day another visitor arrived. "I am the friend of the man who brought you the duck," he said. Nasreddin invited him in and gave him a good meal. The next day another visitor arrived, and said he was the friend of the friend of the man who had brought the duck. Again Nasreddin invited him in for a meal. However, he was getting annoyed. Visitors seemed to be using his house as a restaurant.

Then another visitor came, and said he was the friend of the friend of the friend of the man who had brought the duck. Nasreddin invited him to eat dinner with him. His wife brought some soup to the table and the visitor tasted it. "What kind of soup is this?" asked the visitor. "It tastes just like warm water." "Ah!" said Nasreddin, "That is the soup of the soup of the soup of the duck."